Hyderabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for the ouster of the Congress government in Telangana and urged BJP workers to work towards bringing the party to power in the state.
He accused the Congress of indulging in vote-bank politics, opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and making allegations about electronic voting machines (EVMs) whenever it lost elections.
Speaking at a public meeting organised by Telangana BJP in Hyderabad, Shah said democracy must be protected and lawlessness brought to an end in the state. He expressed confidence that the BJP would form the government in the state in the future.
"If Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had not forced the Nizam to surrender, Hyderabad would not have become a part of India. It was Sardar Patel who made the Nizam surrender and brought Hyderabad into India,” said Shah.
Launching an attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah alleged that the Congress and the INDIA bloc were opposing the SIR exercise to protect the voting rights of infiltrators. He accused the Congress of spreading false propaganda that 13 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls.
Shah claimed that of the 13 crore names, 6.5 crore belonged to people who had shifted to other places, while another three crore were those of deceased persons. He questioned why the Congress was opposing the removal of such names from electoral rolls.
"Rahul Gandhi was demanding the retention of the names of three crore people who had entered India illegally. Shah accused the Congress of attempting to turn infiltrators into a vote bank and said the BJP would oppose any move to grant them voting rights," he alleged.
Targeting Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Shah said their efforts would not succeed in securing voting rights for infiltrators. He also accused the Congress of organising a rally ostensibly to protect voting rights while seeking to protect infiltrators.
Rejecting the Congress allegations concerning EVMs, Shah said the BJP had won three consecutive terms at the Centre on the strength of public support. He pointed out that Narendra Modi had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections before the introduction of the SIR exercise.
Shah said elections had been held in several states before the SIR exercise and cited the BJP's electoral victories in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Bengal and Assam. He questioned the Congress allegations of electoral manipulation and asked how the party had formed the government in Telangana if EVMs were responsible for BJP victories.
He also referred to non-BJP governments in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to challenge the Congress allegations about EVMs.
Accusing the Congress of adopting different positions depending on election results, Shah said the party credited voters when it won elections but blamed EVMs when it lost. He said the BJP was prepared for a debate in Parliament on both SIR and EVMs and questioned why the Congress was unwilling to discuss the issues.
Shah also targeted the Congress government in Telangana over alleged corruption. He accused Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy of collecting what he described as the "RR Tax" in the state and questioned where the money was going.
Alleging that the collections were being made for Rahul Gandhi, Shah said neither the BRS nor Owaisi could check corruption by the Congress government. He claimed that only the BJP could put an end to it.
Shah further alleged that corruption amounting to Rs 12 lakh crore had taken place during 10 years of Congress rule at the Centre. In contrast, he claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration had remained free of corruption allegations during his 12 years in office.
He accused Congress-ruled states of failing to fulfil promises made to the people and claimed that the party was losing public support across the country.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Shah said the Congress leader would never become Prime Minister and remarked that he could occupy the position only in a mock Parliament.
Shah called on BJP workers to strengthen the party in Telangana and work towards defeating the Congress in the next elections.
Earlier on the day, Amit Shah offered prayers at the Sri Bhagya Laxmi Mata temple near Charminar before leading a BJP padyatra in Hyderabad under the party's "Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao" campaign.